The increasing demand for gold and other precious metals for industrial processes, investments, and other uses has caused the market prices for such metals to increase to record levels. The high market price of gold has prompted owners of unused, unwanted jewelry to sell that jewelry through brokers such as pawn shops, jewelry stores, and other establishments equipped to purchase such used jewelry from the public. As used herein, the term pawn shop will be used to refer to any and all such receivers of precious metals. Further, for simplicity, the term gold will be assumed to include other precious metals such as, but not limited to, silver, platinum, copper, etc.
After the pawn shop has purchased gold, most likely as assorted jewelry from several individual sellers, the pawn shop must either smelt the gold they have purchased or sell the gold as-is to a processor of precious metals.